Material handling apparatus



B. B. BROWN MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Moa/nu;

Jan. 5, 1937.

Jan. 5, 1937. E. B. BROWN y 2,066,456

MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan.` 14, 1955l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 x, NM.

III 1|.

my w \N Nk Jan. 5, 1937. B. B. BROWN 2,056,456

` MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14. 1955 S'Sheet's-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 5, 1.937

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to material handling apparatus, and more particularly such tractor carried and operated apparatus las ground levelling machines, ditch llers, snow plows, and what are commonly known as bulldozers, and has for its primary object the provision of strictly mechanical means for raising 'and lowering the pushing'blade above, and into, the material to be moved.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such mechanical means for the adjustment control of the operating blade as will provide for the positive forcing of the same downwardly into the material, admit of maximum accessibility to the several parts of the operating tractor for purposes of repair and the sub-v stitution of parts, and embody certain hoisting features which may be employed for purely hoisting or line pulling operations.

With the above general statement and objects in mind, the further and more detailed objects,

as well as the structure, operation and advan-v tages of the present invention will be better understood and more thoroughly appreciated by reference to the following description and consideration of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail vertical section through the control gearing taken substantially on line 3 3 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken through the central gear box substantially on line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Referring now to these figures, and more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, a tractor I0 is outlined with a material handling deviceincluding a forward transverse blade Il, pivotally connected at its center, at I2, to the forward central portion of 4a U-shaped frame I3 whose side bars I4 straddle the tractor and are pivotally connected at their rear ends, at I 5, to the tracts I6. The side portions of the blade II are shown as pivotally connected at I1 to the forward ends of link bars I8 adjustably connected at their rear ends to the frame bars I4, so that the blade II may be held in the right angular position shown in Figure 2, or in inclined positions toward either side of the tractor.

Formed in connection with the forward portion of the blade supporting frame I3 at equi-distantly spaced points on opposite sides of the central blade pivot I2, are rigid, upwardly and rearwardly inclined struts I9, and immediately to the -rear of these struts, anchor plates 20, connected to opposite sides of the forward portion of the tractor, serve as supportsfor uprights 2 I, having angularly outstanding upper ends on which are rotatably disposed pairs of peripherally grooved, 5 independently movable rollers 22.

To the upper and lower ends of the struts I 9 are secured the forward ends 23 and 24 of control cables 25 and 26 at each side of the tractor, cable 25 extending rearwardly beneath a roller 10 22, and cable 24 extending rearwardly over a roller 22. The rear ends of cables,25 and 26 are respectively connected to the lower and upper ends of a sprocket chain 21, at each side, extending forwardly around a sprocket'wheel 28. 15

As best seen in Figure 2, the two side sprocket wheels 28 are rotatably mounted upon the end portions of an upper rear cross shaft 29, to which they may be clutched by hand clutches 30 at the ends of the shaft. On the central of this shaft 29, a drum 3l is mounted and adapted to be engaged therewith by a hand clutch 32. Also on opposite sides of the drum 3|, large sprocket wheels 33 are fast and these latter wheels are/engaged by sprocket chains 34 and 35. 25

At the rear portion of the tractor I0, a gear frame or box 36 is secured to receive the rearwardly projecting end of a tractor-driven shaft 31, as most plainly seen by a comparison of Figures 2 and 4, and, Within the box 36, a gear 30 38, having a pilot bearing 39, is splined on shaft 31 and in constant mesh with gears 40 at the forward ends of a pair of shafts 4I and 42, journalled in the gear box below the shaft 31, and extending substantially rearwardly thereof.

Transversely through the box 36 is a cross shaft 43, as best shown in Figure 3, and on this shaft a pair of sleeves 44 are rotatably disposed. These sleeves are rotatably supported in bearing members 45 secured to the sides of the box '36, and have 40 at their inner ends worm wheels 46 and 41 .respectively in engagement with oppositely cut Worms 48 and 49 formed upon the rear ends of shafts 4I and 42.

Securely fastenedto the outer ends of the 45 sleeves 44 are clutch members 50 and 5I, in the form of disks having laterally outstanding clutch rings 52 of tapered form. Positioned on the shaft 43 adjacent to, and outstanding beyond the clutch 50 disks 50 and 5| ,4 are drums 53 and 54, each having at its inner side a heavy flange provided with a tapering annular groove 56 to receive the clutch ring 52 adjacent thereto. Each drum is normally spaced free of clutching engagement by reason of 55 portion 20 a spring 51 around the shaft between the drum and its clutch disk.

vAt its outer end, each drum 53, 54 has a flange 53 to which is secured a sprocket ring 53, the ring of drum 53 receiving the sprocket chain 34, and the ring of drum 54 receiving the sprocket chain 35. Adjacent to an internally grooved and counterbored portion 50 at its outer end, each drum has its hub annularly slotted at 6I to provide for the reception of a key sliding at the inner end of an axial bore extending into the outer end of the shaft 43.

The bored ends of the shaft 43 are journalled in bearings 63 located in the rear portions of brackets 64 projecting rearwardly from the tractor as best seen in Figure 2. To the outer faces of the brackets 64, around the outer ends of shaft 43, are. secured bearing cases having bores therein alined axially with the shaft, these bores having in their walls deeply cut, and pitched, threads or thread grooves for the reception of conformable threads 55 on the outer enlarged ends 51 of the drum actuating rods 53. These rods 68 extend into the axial bores of the shaft 43 to engage the keys 62 and shift the drums into clutched positions when the rods are rotated by means of their external crank arms 69, through connections which will be presently described.

Splined on those portions of the shaft 43 between the bearing brackets 64 and the drums 53 and 54, are clutch members 10 shiftable into and out of clutched position within the grooved counterbores of the drums. These clutch members 10 are manipulated by hand levers 1| fulcrumed upon inner extensions of the brackets B4, the clutch members thus functioning to connect the drums 53 and 54 with the shaft 43, locking these parts together so that upon manipulation of one of the end cranks 69 to engage one or the other of the drums 53, 54 with its respective clutch disk 50, 5I, the shaft 43 and the two drums will be rotated. 'I'he direction of such rotation will, of course. depend upon which of the drums has been clutched with the driving connections, since the two clutch disks 50, 5I are constantly driven in relatively opposite directions.

As seen in Figures 1 and 2, a pair of levers 12,

13 are mounted uprightly in front of the drivers clutching cranks 69, so that by pulling lever 12 rearwardly, drum 53 will be engaged with its clutch disk 50, and by similarly manipulating lever 13, drum 54 will be engaged with its clutch disk 5I. g

It is plain, therefore, that with the clutches 30 engaged with sprocket wheels 2l on the shaft 23,

the described manipulation of lever 12 will be transmitted through chains 34 and 35 to rotate sprocket wheels 23 in one direction, while mampulation of lever 13 will drive the same in the opposite direction. It follows, therefore, that the maacca-15e site effect. It is to be especially noted that de,

pression or downward movement of the material the lower edge of the blade I I may be forced into the material bein'g handled.

Where it is desired to use the drum 3|, its clutch 32 is engaged and the sprocket wheel clutches 30 are disengaged, but where the drums 53 and 54 are alone in use, the shaft clutches 10 may be disengaged and the drums individually operated and controlled in connection with the clutch disks 50 and 5|, the shaft 43 remaining idle during this operation.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed is,

1. In a material handling apparatus for a tractor having a driven shaft one end of which projects exteriorly of the tractor, said apparatus comprising a blade, a frame pivotally connected to the tractor and carrying said blade, and tractor carried and actuated means for raising and depressing said frame, comprising a shaft, nexible actuating connections between said shaft and the frame, a second shaft, drums loosely mounted on the second shaft and having operating connections with the first shaft, clutch elements on the second shaft freely rotatable adjacent to said drums, a gear box secured to the tractor receiving the 'said tractor shaft, a gear in said box engaging the tractor shaft, means operatively associated with said latter gear for driving said clutch elements in relatively opposite directions, means controlled by the operator for selectively shifting each of said drums into engagement with its lrespective clutch element, and manually operated clutch members splined on the second shaft and engageable with said drums.

2. In a material handling apparatus of the character set forth for a tractor having a rearwardly projecting driven shaft, a gear box secured to therear of the tractor receiving the rear end of said shaft, a gear journaled in said box and having a splined connection with said shaft, a transverse shaft extending through said gear box, clutch members rotatable on said latter shaft at opposite sides ofthe gear box, gears in said box on 'said transverse shaft having portions journaled through the sides of the gear box and' secured to said clutch members, sprocket drums rotatable on said transverse shaft and slidable into and out of engagement with said clutch members, manually controlled means at the ends of the transverse shaft for sliding said sprocket drums, a second transverse shaft having a sprocket chain connection with each of said sprocket drums, and clutch controlled connections operable from said last mentioned shaft for manipulating the material handling apparatus.

BERNIS B. BROWN.

Ahandling device is a power movement whereby 

